The Feeling of a Loaned Sweater
by Mad Cow
Summary: After a rough mission, Marco and Tobias have a heart-to-heart(vaguely mm, rating for some curse words)


Title: The Feeling of a Loaned Sweater

Author: Mad Cow (hi, guys!)

Rating: PG-13, because college!Marco has a slight potty mouth.

Warnings: Nothing, really. Just some curse words. Really, all of the slashy boycrush stuff is just subtext

So, yeah. This is AU, obviously, since the Animorphs are in college. This timeline had to have split off before 45. I would like any comments/questions/critiques you guys have, especially on characterization, particularly because this is my first fic in a few months, and I don't have the books for reference anymore. Why Tobias/Marco? Why not, I say.

The battle had been hard. None of them were easy anymore, but this one had been particularly rough. There was a close call for Jake; he had been surrounded by the Hork-Bajir pretty tightly. He'd taken some down, but been scratched up pretty near death when Ax had provided the distraction.

Nerves were frayed. Jake was shaken, Marco could tell. And Marco knew, with something fairly close to certainty, that his roommate would deal like he always dealt with tough battles these days, and Marco didn't want to be around for that.

So, he demorphed quickly, from his normal place behind the college's library and pulled on the clothes he had hidden there since he moved in during September. He started walking, shoving his hands deep into his favorite sweater's pockets to keep warm in the chilly, but not unbearably so, December California night.

He was nearly under the bridge, heavily illuminated by the lights from above, when a shadow fell over him. A familiar shadow.

"Hey," he said, not looking up, knowing full well Tobias could hear him.

Hey. 

Marco walked under the shadow of the bridge, and leaned against one of the heavy iron supports. Tobias followed, and morphed to human.

"Out for a walk?" Tobias asked.

"It's more an issue of me making myself scarce. I don't think Jake listened to the 'Don't have sex while your roommate's in the room' lecture we got during orientation. Apparently, it's up to me to hold up on that part of the bargain by not being around."

"Sex?"

"Well, maybe not yet," Marco answered, "but I think they get that much closer after every battle. What about you? On your way to see Rachel?"

"Not really."

"Not really? Some squabbles between the lovebirds?"

"A lot, actually." Strange, how blank Tobias' face was, and yet, how uncomfortable his eyes looked.

Marco squirmed. He didn't like talking about people's feelings and problems. Unless, of course, there was a joke in it. But he got the feeling Tobias just needed to say it, and get it done with.

"Anything you need to talk about, man?"

"We're just having issues," Tobias said quietly. "I think we've changed, too much. Maybe we've changed. Maybe we've changed what we needed from each other. Maybe the problem was that we needed too much from each other in the first place. Maybe things would have been different if the war had ended when we had been in high school. I don't know. There are so many maybes. But we're really not seeing eye to eye anymore, and it's been really rough."

"I'm sorry." Marco hoped Tobias wouldn't keep talking.

"We try not to think about it." Shit. "We don't really want to admit something's wrong with us, but it is. I just don't know anymore. It's her, and it's me.

She'sâcontrolling sometimes. She still wants me to trap myself again, and she's such a hypocrite about it."

_Rachel, a hypocrite?_ Marco thought to himself._ Now who'da thunk that? /i _ "Uh-huh."

"She loves the war. Craves it. I don't know how she can ask me to give it up. Not that I need the fight. But this life is all I have now. I can't go back. I'd have no home, no food, no friends. I'd have nothing. Just her. And who knows if that would solve the problems, or if it's just a representation of larger ones?"

"I'd still stick around." _Great_. Marco thought to himself_, now I sound all sappy, like I'm in love with the guy, or something._

"Yeah, well, you say that now. But there's no assurance of that when you're still fighting the war, and I'm practically a casualty." Tobias shivered. Maybe it was the thought of living without wings, but then maybe it was the chill.

"Take my sweater," Marco offered, pulling it off.

"You've just got your morphing suit underneath, too,"

"Yeah, well, I've got on pants. So we're both even. Plus, my strong, manly muscles will keep me warm."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm not really attracted to her, anymore, either. She just doesn't do it for me. It's weird, because I logically know she's beautiful. I don't know. Maybe I've spent too much time in the woods with Ax."

"Starting to find aliens attractive?"

"Or something like that."

Marco didn't really know what that meant, but Tobias still looked cold. Fuck that, _Marco _was cold.

"Come closer. Body heat and all." Tobias obliged, scooting over but leaving an inch between them. Forget that. Marco would take warmth over modesty any day. He got closer to Tobias, but Tobias, panicked, slightly, and flinched away, letting just the barest hints of his body brush Marco's. Tobias was wearing the sweater Marco had worn hundreds of times, but it felt different, from the other side.

Tobias lowered his head, blonde hair obscuring his face. "I just don't want anything to happen to us. It would ruin everything"

"Hate to break it to you, man, 'cause I know I'm sexy, but there is no _us_," Marco joked, and Tobias looked startled. Was he blushing? No, must be the cold.

"I mean the six of us," Tobias said quickly. "I didn't mean it like tha-"

"I was kidding. Jesus. What's with you?"

"Sorry. It's justâ.well, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Marco couldn't believe those works coming out of his mouth.

Tobias shook his head. "No, I've got to get back to the woods. Thanks for the sweater."

Tobias demorphed, and flapped off into the cold sky. Marco's eyes followed Tobias until he was gone, out of sight, and a part of him wished Tobias was still there, next to him.

_It's not like I'm in love with the guy_, he told himself.

And yet, he kept wishing for the feeling of his sweater, worn by someone else, just barely touching.


End file.
